Katniss and Clove
by secretkeeper0024
Summary: Clove is a trained killer on the eve of the battle. Katniss is just trying to survive. What do these girls have in common that will change their destinies? Complete.
1. Chapter 1

_**Clove is a trained killer on the eve of the battle. Katniss is just trying to survive. What do these girls have in common that will change their destinies?**_

Katniss and Clove: Chapter One

There are two lists; the master list and the working list. I keep the working list close, in the forefront of my mind - reciting three or four high priority items to keep me on track. As I complete tasks they are automatically deleted from the working list and new items from the master list are transferred, and become part of my updated mantra. The working list keeps me busy and the master list keeps me focussed, I am always operating. Even my rest periods are functional, necessary recovery for mind and muscles to maintain optimal condition.

That is not the way in which I resemble a machine, I have been bred for this. Trained psychologically and physically, since I could walk, for the task that will soon be at hand. Many think it starts when glass tubes deliver us to the arena, the counting clock ticks down and we are released from our podiums like tightly wound springs. Some think it starts when we arrive publically by horse drawn chariot to the waiting public in outfits designed to link us permanently to our district. A few of may think it begins with having our name drawn out of the enormous glass fishbowl - or at the moment someone volunteers.

But I know the truth, it began before I could walk. I do not mean to imply that I have always been guaranteed a place in the arena, although I have been trained, and I have lived as though it had. What is the alternative? Children like me are sacrificed for the glory and honour of their district and the Capitol. Our families deliver us up or the powers that be remove us, as required. We earn the privilege of our existence by training, those children who are sickly, show no aptitude or sustain an injury are euthanized.

The rest of us press on as though we have nothing to lose - and in truth, we do not. I have learned to live in the day, forgetting the past and disregarding the future. Each day when I wake, I create a list of things to do; there was always daily physical training, learning specialised skills and participating in education. Occasionally there are assessments, medical or other appointments to attend.

I recite the items throughout the morning and when physical training is complete, I move on to the next task, reciting a shorter list. Each night I recognise that I have survived another day, I mentally wipe the slate clean and prepare a new list for the following day. Not new per se, it rarely deviates.

'Survived another day', perhaps a negligible concept, considering I have nothing else to live for, but even when one has nothing - one has life. People are strangely attached to life, they live as though they don't mind whether they live or die but close your fingers around their throat and squeeze - they will suddenly decide they do care after all.

And you are right - I have nothing to live for, now, but like all candidates I dream of a day where I may. They dream of winning, of having enough food, a safe home, wealth and glory. I do not. I dream of a day when I might wake with an empty mind, no list already compiled before I draw my first breath. To be free to decide whether I would like to do something or nothing at all and the opportunity to change my mind.

Until then, I can only continue to move through the activities as dictated by the list. Today I rise silently from the bed early, independent of other candidates, and begin my normal yoga routine. The others prefer to concentrate their efforts on activities likely to produce obvious, measurable results - strength and speed based training. I don't know that they are wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

Katniss and Clove: Chapter Two

I am small framed and short, nothing I can do about that. But for everything I can control, I do. I am proficient at all aspects of physical fitness; muscular strength and endurance, speed, agility and flexibility, and coordination and reaction time. I also meditate.

To say I am proficient in hand to hand and weapons is amusing, I'm not arrogant, despite popular sentiment. I've been training my whole life, expertise is expected, to perform at a lower level or suggest that I did would be a shameful waste. More than other skills, I am an expert knife thrower, it's what I am known for, within and beyond my District, District 2.

But I am _proficient_, shall we say, in direct physical offense and defense - what I lack in height and reach I more than make up for in strategy, unpredictability and surprisingly (to others, that is) wrestling. Close weapons; hunting knives, axe, swords and mace and ranged weapons; bow and arrow, crossbow, spear and sling shot.

But knives are my thing. I love them. Truth be told, I can become quite aroused thinking about them. Cold, sharp and deadly. Oh, I am not a cutter or anything like that. It's just the power they extend to me, like after a vial of cocaine - I feel six feet tall and bulletproof. That doesn't make me want to smash things though, it makes me want to silently slide up alongside and lick some unsuspecting girls pussy until she pulls my hair and screams my name.

I have a collection of knife vests, I know all and each intimately. I know every pocket and each blade in relation to its neighbour. I can access every blade from every pocket with my eyes closed and keep count, knowing precisely how many remaining blades, of every type and size, every throwing star and axe.


	3. Chapter 3

Katniss and Clove: Chapter Three

In the younger age groups we are so populated that we are considered a burden and are exploited, as we achieve higher degrees of proficiency and skill, our value begins to increase. There are not so many of us at this elite level and my trainers know I am special, I am not the only special one, but we are few. I know that if I ask for something I will receive it.

Unlike the others, I don't ask for anything that is not directly related to my training or development. I do not need anything and I do not desire anything, I have no wish to be distracted. The others ask for and get all sorts of things; elaborate personalised weapons, luxury items, illegal and black market articles, drugs and alcohol, sex and parties. That's how I know what it feels like to have cocaine coursing through my veins.

No one would think to look at me but I am quite a square, I have been to a couple of their parties but only to get the others off of my back. I prefer to go to bed early, pleasure myself and wake up when it is still dark, with a clear mind and an unimpaired desire to train. I am too close now to allow myself to become distracted. While others think they are invincible, I always remember that I am one broken bone or one drunken dare gone wrong away from being tossed onto the rubbish heap of life.


	4. Chapter 4

Katniss and Clove: Chapter Four

The other thing consumers don't understand is that there is another sort of games that precede the Hunger Games - that is almost as deadly. The Reaping following my fifteenth year, is the first in which I am eligible to volunteer for the Hunger Games. There are a number of girls as keen as I am to volunteer, some older than me, having been out volunteered in previous years.

There have been efforts to secure the right to volunteer by threat, beguile and bribery. I have refused any and all attempts to participate in any such discussion, which they take to mean that I intend to volunteer. They aren't wrong, I mean I am at least fairly decided but not certain.

I am convinced that I am as prepared for success in the arena as I will ever be. The only other consideration is whether I am in any position to secure the opportunity to volunteer. Would my chances of volunteering be improved by waiting a year? Two? It's not a matter of skills, it's a matter of strategy and politics - not my strongest suit, I must admit. I am not completely bereft of intelligence but I do lack a certain accumen.

I would be more inclined to assassinate likely volunteers than I would be carrying on with the bluff and blunder they appear to, but that doesn't mean I won't be giving it any thought. Right now the only thing I can think of is that if I wait there is every chance I could incur an injury and that would be disastrous. Oh, they probably wouldn't exterminate me at this point, I would be useful as a skills trainer if nothing else.

All this talk about death, and I am not even in the arena yet! Delay, Injury, Arena - and just like that, my decision is made. The only thing I need to achieve now is securing the uninterrupted right to volunteer.


	5. Chapter 5

Katniss and Clove: Chapter Five

I continue training, almost as one eyed as ever, I say almost, because of course I now have to consider the volunteer situation as well. As time slips by I notice that the competition is thinning, one particular girl appears to know how to play the game.

I think about how pretty she would look if one of my knives glanced her throat. The blood would spurt out with force, her face would take on a surprised look and she would drop to the ground. In a moment or two her skin would become a lovely sort of translucent alabaster with a light sheen. Her long blonde hair would fan out round her face and then the blood would soak into her hair, making her face appear whiter than ever.

I snap back to attention. I have become distracted, aroused. My calloused thumb has been grazing habitually across the blade of one of knives. Luckily I have been staring off into the distance rather than staring at her, that would be creepy. They think I am creepy, perhaps I am, compared to other people.

As I become preoccupied with the volunteer game, I am aware of increased attention from the trainers. It is no surprise to me that I am regarded as the girl thought most capable of this round to achieve success for District Two in the Arena. It was arranged for me to meet Cato, he is the boy singled out to represent District Two.

Apparently his abilities and determination make him stand head and shoulders above the other candidates, he is a huge wall of muscle who wields a sword. They have chosen the pair of us because of our combined skills and abilities mean we cover a wide possible scenarios - both in terms of Tributes and potential arena environment.

All my individual training and preparation has come down to how well I pair with some random boy and all my concern about how to secure my place ends up in me being 'preselected'. From the moment Cato and I meet, it is decided by the powers that be that, barring accident and incident, we will be this year's Tributes. I am not consulted, nor am I surprised. I just feel incredibly lucky and relieved that it has been settled.

That is apparently made clear to the other girls because where they previously avoided me they now ignore me. They are not unhappy with me, they know that I am just as much at mercy of this arrangement as anyone else, everyone else. I am moved to my own quarters and while two or three of the girls remain as possible replacements, should I need replacing, the rest are 'retired'.


	6. Chapter 6

Katniss and Clove: Chapter Six

"I volunteer as Tribute" I say in a loud, clear voice and feel the collective breath taken by the relieved and the disappointed around me. I step forward in the line and make my way to the centre of the square. A Peacekeeper guard of honour approaches me, they take their place at the four corners they match my pace as I head to the stage. When I take the stairs they turn uniformly to the right and stand at attention marking the significance of my new position.

District Two Female Tribute: Me. Clove. I stand proudly with thousands of pairs of jealous and admiring eyes upon me. Every effort, over the course of my entire life has culminated in this single moment of glory. I tried to affect an air of modesty - even now I am not free of the list. My mind, under the influence of my life long habit of listing my next concern - Sponsors.

I stand to one side while Cato volunteers, I am vaguely aware of the Peacekeepers turning as one and heading to escort him to the stage. But my mind is whirring, I know that this moment will be one of the most watched and rewatched of all the games. Oh, I'm not referring to me, I mean all the Tributes. And not only these games - for years to come people will be looking back, remembering the moment the Tributes are confirmed.

I will already have Sponsors from the Capitol and District Two, no doubt, but it would be a wasted opportunity to not try to impress potential Sponsors at this moment. Cato is reaching to shake my hand - as if this hasn't all been prearranged, but I take his hand and participate in the charade. Rich people don't mind that the system is fixed against the poor but they would not appreciate knowing that the Capitol has fixed their Hunger Games.


	7. Chapter 7

Katniss and Clove: Chapter Seven

Cato and I were taken to a pleasant little office and offered a glass of wine. We barely finish the beverage when we are ushered onto the train and reunited with our mentors and escort. We are given an outline of the days' events - good just what I need, another list. We are given a quick tour of the facilities of the train given we will be on it for some hours.

I have been on a train twice before - once for a training assessment over a year ago and once before that for a medical appointment. I always remember those appointments together, perhaps it's because of the train. I had been looking forward to the journey the first time, but they told me I was taken ill on the journey into the Capitol, I don't recall the trip or even getting off the train.

I had woken up in the hospital feeling very unwell. They told me how lucky I was, they had found a problem in my stomach and were able to operate straight away. They must have been very good because I don't even have a scar - I bled for days afterward from my privates and then never bled again. Thank god because my periods had been getting in the way of my training, with all the cramps and pain, and of course the bleeding.

The second time was about six months later. I went back to that building, the same doctor came to see how I was recovering, he watched me performing in all the physical testing and marked off my results on his clipboard. Funny the way the mind works, making me remember all that as I step onto the train. I just feel bloody lucky they caught it when they did, whatever it was.


	8. Chapter 8

Katniss and Clove: Chapter Eight

Later we meet our Stylist, who wants to get an idea of _the essence_ of me and Cato, for our outfits and our theme. The Tribute Parade is an important part of the process, it marks the beginning of The Hunger Games, we are introduced to the Capitol and the Districts as Tributes. We will be dressed in a way that identifies us with our district, it's a way to get everyone involved, feeling that they all have a horse in the race.

District 2 is a mining district, primarily masonry. We are a district second only to the Capitol in terms of wealth and prestige so this year we are presented to the citizens of Panem as demiGods. It's been done before but where originality has been sacrificed, symbolism is strong. It makes District 2 feel powerful and united. Our bodies are dusted with gold paint body paint, we are wearing some ludicrous headgear, whatever. I am here.

Cato and I have been schooled on how to behave in every moment, how to stand, where to look and where not to look. Every moment will be recorded and every movement scrutinised and analysed by millions for all posterity. And there is always the thought of sponsors.

We ride on a horse drawn chariot through the crowds, the noise is deafening. It has been decided that Cato and I will reflect the status of District 2 by embodying god like status, waving to the crowd as though they are our people rather than we theirs. We bestow upon them our grace and mercy through generous smiles and magnanimous hand gestures.

The horses come to a stop before President Snow, his honoured guests and the administrators of all the districts. We are second to arrive behind the Capitol Tributes, Marvel and Glimmer. We met them this morning, they will be our allies for at least the first part of the Games, but we don't look at them, we are working and so are they. We aren't friends, we are allies. We wait for all the horses to come to a stop in a prearranged pattern to hear President Snow's speech which officially opens the Games.

There is a strange and unexpected hush falling over the crowd in a wave, it starts at the most distant end of the causeway. The silence seems to fall on the crowd like a heavy blanket, one after the other until it reaches the front. Like a mass choreographed wave surfing event featuring silence. And then it happens in reverse, the silence is replaced by an enormous eruption of cheering working its way through the crowd.

It is as though the crowd were unsure about something and then decided that they liked it after all. Something is happening and I don't know what, I can't turn my head to see, I have to keep looking forward like we have been instructed. Pretending that we are the gods and all attention is focussed upon us - where else would it be?

I don't learn what it was all about until we get off our horses and are joined by our mentors. District 12. It's all everyone is talking about. The gods have been displaced by coal miners. Apparently they made a terrific display of fire as they made their way down the line and that's what people were amazed by.

Cato is furious but I understand that we are all doing what we can to survive. There are going to be distractions, unexpected happenings, he is going to have to learn to take them in his stride, as I do. That's what I think until I see her. Then I almost never think again.


	9. Chapter 9

Katniss and Clove: Chapter Nine

I was just checking out the competition then I was checking out her. Her outfit is no longer on fire, her mentors are patting her and the boy on their backs. I think I see their stylist and there are other people milling around them waiting for introductions. They are Capitol types and she looks scared to death. What did they do to get Capitol types lining up to meet them right after the parade? They could be drinking with President Snow.

When we are finally through meeting and greeting Capitol types ourselves, greasing palms for sponsorship, none of us can wait to get back. We switch on the monitor and watch and re watch the parade. Cato and I look fine from what little I saw of us - all of our eyes are watching the District 12 Tributes come out of the tunnel. After they pass the first section of people, the back of their outfits are suddenly consumed with fire - nothing is actually burning but there are what look to be real flames leaping about their backs.

We stare, open mouthed and as silent as the crowds they pass. It takes us the same amount of time as it takes the crowd to understand what we are seeing. District 12 are coal miners, this pair are two black pieces of coal who are quite literally on fire. Caesar Flickerman coins the phrase 'girl on fire' and that's all anyone can think of or say for the rest of the evening.

I would have had to have been naked to compete with her but even then I am not certain it would have been my name people would have been repeating. Name? She is called 'girl on fire' so much that I still don't know her name. Katniss Everdeen. People don't even remember that the boy exists let alone that he too might have a name.

They put on a show, those two. While every eye in the place was on them, they joined hands and raised them like they had just won the Hunger Games. A sucker punch to the rest of us. Everyone is talking about the value of the impression District 12 has made on Panem, how likely they are to have already secured a great many sponsors, and from unexpected quarters. Sponsors that would very likely have been ours before their big splash.

And all of this is important, very important, but all I can think about is her. I am sure I have seen prettier girls but not any with such spunk - I mean it's hard to say what it is, I've seen as much or as little of her as the rest of Panem. There is a certain vulnerability about her and an irrepressible defiance too. One moment she looks unsure, scared even, the next she looks like she has been coming for us for as long as I have been. It has an intriguing, mesmerizing effect - I take it to bed and I think about her while I touch myself.


	10. Chapter 10

Katniss and Clove: Chapter Ten

All the Tributes are afforded three days of 'training' before the Games in the training centre at the base of the Tribute Centre. What could they possibly learn in three days that could trouble Tributes from Districts 1, 2 and possibly 4. They call us careers because we have been training our whole lives for this, it's been our job. Professionals have studied the the history of the games, analysing every aspect and devising strategies and training programs for us for years. That's why we nearly always win.

We use these three days differently from the other Districts and I use this time differently to Cato. I get to know Cato better and the other Career Tributes, we form our alliance and strategize. While I carefully watch all the other Tributes identifying their skills, strengths and weakness and developing strategies Cato and the others flirt with each other and and show off. There is a psychological factor, we move as one formidable group hoping to intimidate and we hang out by the weapons that most of these kids have never seen let alone wielded.

The other Tributes are unlikely to know anyone at all, they barely know their co-Tribute, they would not have met their mentor or anybody else until the train. We hope to pick them off mentally, before we even hit the arena, by which time we will have a much better idea of who will run and who will be killed before they step off of their platform.

I watch her training, I can hardly stop looking at her, watching her. Katiss Everdeen is hot. She seems big, not fat, hardly anyone is fat except a few old men in the Capitol, maybe a few District administrators. No, I mean, she is not skinny or weak, she walks taller than most, she appears to have muscle tone, some upper body strength and is reasonably fit. Girls like her usually don't work outside the home; child care, cleaning and cooking, I am not convinced her body reflects that sort of experience.

She and her offsider stick to the survival tables; knot tying, camouflage, identifying edible plants and insects, trapping and snares, fire making, first aid, shelter. Now if either of them had a skill, I would certainly advise them to hide it, but is she hiding something or is she just trying to learn how to set a trap?

The other thing that sets her apart is that she volunteered. Almost unheard of outside of the Career districts. The name of her little sister was chosen from the bowl and in order to protect her, Katniss volunteered. This will endear her to the masses, her District will take a special pride in her, the general public will love to love her and Sponsors will be keen to back an upset winner.

Between being a volunteer and the girl on fire, I have to determine whether this is an accumulation of random events or whether this signals genuine danger. There is something about her physicality that I just can't quite put my finger on, and I need to. I also need to avoid raising the interest of my allies in my increasing fascination with Katniss Everdeen.


	11. Chapter 11

Katniss and Clove: Chapter Eleven

I can't stop thinking about her and fantasizing about her. She is taller than me and although certainly not stronger I enjoy thinking about what it would feel like to be crushed beneath the weight of her body. I know she isn't as inexperienced as she makes out, unlike other struggling Tributes she anticipates the weight of untested things like ropes and tools, she has good manual dexterity, good awareness of weight distribution and foot work. What could a girl from the seam know that is worth hiding?

I am both shocked and not at all surprised when Katniss is awarded a Showcase score of 11 out of 12. I was happy with my 10 but my mind spins out of control at the thought of her 11. I have to leave the room, Cato and the others think I am upset or angry but I am so turned on. I am highly sexed at the best of times but my mind is flooded with images for which I would award her an 11.

While my hand is still in my pants, after two orgasms, I cut across an awesome plan. I could pretend that I really was upset or angry, I could suggest that I befriend her and see if I can't learn what her secrets are. Cato is still raging when I reenter the room, rather than expressing the contempt I felt at his entitled attitude, I indicate that the girl on fire is certainly a problem.

I introduce my plan as though it was only just occurring to me and they are all immediately interested; our mentors, trainers, even the escort but most importantly Cato. I manage to make it seem like I am taking one for the team and I easily extract a genuine promise from Cato, before our entire team, that he will have my back with the other Careers. I can't be suspected of defecting - the consequences for me in the arena are deadly.

I cannot believe my good fortune, I am now free to make contact with Katniss. I suddenly realise that I want this more than I have ever wanted anything - I want her more than I want to win the Hunger Games. This realisation is so profoundly shocking to me, my whole life's work is on the cusp of being realised and abruptly I don't care?

It's not that I don't care - it's that I know deep down that I am so unlikely to win, my life will be over in less than two weeks and I will be dead having never kissed Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire. I will never have been held by her or tasted her kisses. This now, is the only thing now that I consider worth dying to try and win.


	12. Chapter 12

Katniss and Clove: Chapter Twelve

I am not normally one to be shy, I have been watching her for hours and having the most indecent thoughts about her, now that I have the chance of making contact I feel unsure. I am not the kind of girl who has lived the sort of life that I can just waltz up and buy her a drink. I take the only action I can think of. I follow her. Yep, I called it - I'm creepy. Oh I'm not really of course, it's just easier to adopt other people's short sighted assumptions than it is to explain myself fully.

So, Im following her around the training facility, she stops at the special skills station but she doesn't touch anything - reconnaissance only. I try to watch her eyes and identify what she is looking at and what she isn't, she moves away from me, and attends the training stations, she watches some pairs sparring but declines an offer made to provide her with some practice.

When she sees that I have followed her she gives me a pointed look and rejoins Peeta who is working on his camouflage skills, they are dressed like twins. I think it is to give the impression that they are a tight pair but she doesn't mind him at all until moments like these - when she wants something. She tries to listen to him as he explains things to her but I now have her attention, she is watching me watching her.

Its a long erotic dance, at least it is for me. At lunch time I completely avoid my alliance and sit at her table, not by her but the move is so unusual, so out of character that every eye in the place is on us. Cato and his crew are watching, my team is watching with bated breath, her team is watching, the Gamemakers are watching and the Tributes are watching. Good thing I am not shy.

Finally she loses her short temper and says "Can I help you with something?" It's too easy really. I feign a little surprise, a hint of hurt at her coarse, abrupt treatment of me, I shrink up to emphasise my small stature and widen my eyes minimally, nothing too obvious. "I was hoping we could talk" I say in a quiet, unsteady voice. It is manipulative, I admit, but it's lazy to think that I am as base and callous as that. While some people might smooth down their hair and check their breath - tipping the scales in their favour - how is what I am doing any different?

"Talk about what?" She hopes her loud voice will draw more attention and drive me away, but little does she know that there is no more attention to be had and I am right where I want to be. I reply softly, hoping to obscure my intention and my words but really I am hoping she will conclude that I am either being used by my alliance to make contact with her to ferret out her secrets or that I am just a bit dumb. "Congratulations on your score of 11." I say.

The bait is out there, let the games begin. She snorts in disgust, clears her dinner tray and leaves. Point Clove, I can barely hide my enjoyment, I keep my eyes down and finish my meal.


	13. Chapter 13

Katniss and Clove: Chapter Thirteen

I continue to follow her at more of a distance during the afternoon, my presence makes her nervous, she heads to the trapping station, a place she feels familiar and in control. I stand uselessly at a table nearby watching her shamelessly. When she is finishing up making an animal lure I approach her and offer her a trade - that lure in exchange for me showing her how to throw a knife.

She is very suspicious of me and so she ought to be. She weighs it up and concludes that she can protect her secret skill from me long enough to learn how to throw a knife. She doesn't know that I already know what it is and that I don't want it. I will never tell anyone she is an archer, she will need all the help she can get in the arena and that is my contribution. How do I know? It's taken me awhile, I admit, getting up close has helped me confirm it.

For a start, her back muscles are strong, and I mean tight. So hot. Also when we were at the Special skills station she did not even look at the bows or arrows, not even out of curiosity. Most novices assume that archery is less difficult than it really is and can't wait to fire off a few, only to find that it's virtually impossible without some initial help. She is an excellent judge of distance, demonstrates controlled breathing technique and is heavily right handed. On their own they do not signify but together suggest an archer's narrative.

She slaps the lure on the table between us and folds her arms. Point Clove. She stares into my eyes, daring me to be the villain she thinks I am. Indeed, I am no villain. Certainly I am a product of my environment, despite that I am genuinely a kind and loving person, and I think I would have had a sense of humour had not those things had not been actively dismantled within me. Unlike others, Cato for example, they do mean things because they can, they enjoy it. I do not, I do what I have to do to get by. And I have a conscience.

Over at the throwing station I show her the three kinds of knives; handle heavy, blade heavy and balanced and I explain the two fundamental principles accuracy and force. Same as bow and arrow I think but I don't say it. I demonstrate how to hold the knife with a light grip, between my thumb and forefinger, at the handle end. The back of the blade should rest along the webbing between said thumb and forefinger.

She picks up a knife similar to the one I selected and follows my instructions, when she has it I remind her to loosen her grip which she does. I demonstrate how to keep her wrist straight through the action and to release it with a flicking motion. I let a couple rip and when it is her turn I find myself hoping she is successful. No one would be happier if she hit the target every time. She doesn't but she's not bad, I suspect her hand eye coordination, judge of distance and overall aim are transferable skills.

The Careers start jeering at her, I have no idea why it certainly wasn't part of the plan. I wonder if Cato thinks he is helping me deceive her or if he has lost control of his pack. Without looking at them, I go around her and stand between them and her, with my back to them. "What's up with them?" she asks. "I don't know," I reply honestly.

I give her three handle heavies and she throws them, then three blade heavies and finally three balanced. An Avox wheels in a fresh trolley laden with new knives, sharpened and polished. She picks up three more balanced knives and is testing one in her hand. I mimic her gesture, I know what she is thinking and offer a distant smile, the balanced knives are my favourite too.

"There are throwing daggers, axes and stars and there are slingshots" Now if Katniss has been using a bow and arrow, chances are she has used a slingshot, but I have moved too fast and she is off. "Thanks, Clove" she said retreating.

I shoot Cato a look hoping to suggest that any perceived lack of success can be attributed to him and his band of fuck sticks. It appears to have worked because they do not look at me or Katniss again. I cease following her around for the rest of the afternoon but I stay well clear of the careers hoping the Tributes and other District teams will presume we've had a falling out. At the end of the day I slide up next to her and whisper, "Can we talk later?"


	14. Chapter 14

Katniss and Clove: Chapter Fourteen

Loads of Tributes use the roof of the Tribute Centre at night, but the careers own the rooftop, like everything else. Individuals who like to think of jumping off the building, which is the tallest in the Capitol and couples who hope to turn their furtive glances of the day into something more romantic in the night.

That's why I asked Katniss to meet me in the morning, early, still dark, if I play my cards right I may be able to share the sunrise with her. I arrive first, recon the area, there is no one else on the roof, I wait patiently in the shadows on the off chance someone else appears. When she arrives I reveal myself immediately but I don't speak. I am taken by her presence, her beauty. I want more than anything to kiss her. Everything about her is desirable, she is a compelling alloy of delicate, strong, fierce and vulnerable and I want to possess her.

We stand looking at each other, she considers in what ways I may be a threat to her, now or later. I consider whether I might not just come clean with her; about being a double agent and about my infatuation with her. I would not suggest that I have found myself in this situation, aside from my strong attraction to Katniss, every choice I have made has been deliberate. Unwise likely, absurd perhaps but they were mine to make. I don't want to leave this life without having expressed my desire for this woman.

"Do you think you can win, Katniss?" I don't know why I started here, but I have to start somewhere. "You want to tell me I can't?" she fires back, already defensive. "No. I came to tell you that I can't." I turn and walk toward the rail, the city lights are various colours and blinking away, it's a pleasant distraction. "I don't trust you, Clove." I find her honesty refreshing, I wonder if she can appreciate mine. "No." I acknowledge, "Until now I haven't behaved toward you with absolute integrity."


	15. Chapter 15

Katniss and Clove: Chapter Fifteen

Katniss would not have known what to expect, meeting me on the roof; games, intimidation, threats and bargains were all on the table. But a frank admission? Now this appears the least trustworthy of all options. "I would like to start again, in honesty, if you will hear me?" I don't say believe me because we both know that is not possible.

I quickly relay that I am born and bred to participate in these games - to win if possible. I tell her briefly that I arrived being prepared to give the Hunger Games the fight of my life, but that on arrival, something had changed within me. I explained that I had unexpectedly met someone, someone that I cared about more than I cared about winning the games. And that the only chance I had of expressing my desire was to relinquish any real hope of winning.

Katniss looked perturbed, "I don't see what any of this has to do with me, Clove." "If I am going to die Katniss, and I am, I want to go out with integrity." "I still don't…" she began, I didn't let her finish. Having spoken those words made me keenly aware of the limited time I have left on this planet. I never realised I had anything to say at all and now there was so much and so little time and I wanted to say it all to her. This beautiful girl.

"The games are rigged," I blurted out. "Cato and I were selected months ago, others were prevented from volunteering to ensure our places." I tell her that my team, that the teams for the Capitol and District 3 are freaking out over her, her score of 11, her huge popularity from the girl on fire angle and force myself to tell her the truth about how my first attempt to befriend her was disingenuous. I told her that I had worked out her secret skill but that I would never reveal it to anyone ever. Ever. The next two weeks, more like.

When I mentioned the archery she turned and gave me a hard look but when I finally stopped speaking all she said was "Oh." "I am telling you this, Katniss, because I am going to die. I want two things before I do; I want to tell someone that I care about them and if you will let me, I want to help you win. I know it's hard to trust me, impossible maybe. You got an 11, you have to know the Careers are coming for you. There is nothing I can personally gain going forward from actually helping you or pretending to help you, my days are numbered."

"So you aren't going to try to win, you want to help me win. I don't understand you at all, what do you want from me, Clove?" I don't blame her. "I want to tell you that I care about you." I turn sidewards so that I am no longer looking out over the city but looking at her, she doesn't move a muscle. "I think it's amazing that you volunteered to take your sister's place here. You told her you would try to win and I can see that you really are trying. In fact you have a reasonable chance, Katniss. Don't lose heart".

The atmosphere is charged right now. She would like to believe me and I think that is because she is a good person, she would like to help me, to believe me if she could. "You looked amazing coming down the causeway all covered in flames, you looked at once both so scared and so defiant." I want to touch her.

A nervous sort of giggle escapes her and she flicks me a look "I thought you were going to kiss me for a moment" she looks more scared at the thought of me kissing her than cutting her. I wonder if that's because her response to one is decided but to the other completely unknown to her.

My silence suggests to her that her instincts are dead on and it takes a long moment for her to realise it. She turns to face me and the look on her face is unreadable. Only a fool would think getting slapped or rejected is a high price to pay for trying to kiss Katniss Everdeen. There isn't a price I am not willing to pay.

I lean toward her so slowly, giving her plenty of time to run or wind up and sock me a beauty, she does neither. Instead, both of us are astonished that she is going to let me press my lips tenderly to hers. The first kiss is a gift, the second and third are questions, invitations for her to kiss me back. She does not.

I pull back as gently as I moved in, I have achieved what I wanted. I have no wish to extract something from her that she does not want to give me. I turn back and lean on the rail looking out across the city. The sun is beginning to rise and if I can have nothing more, perhaps just to share this amazing sunrise with Katniss. She is watching me, watching the sunrise.


	16. Chapter 16

Katniss and Clove: Chapter Sixteen

It's the last day of training, tomorrow around this time we will be arriving in the arena and ten minutes later only half of us will be drawing breath. It's a sombre thought but I have accepted my fate and am comforted by the thought that I will do all I can to help Katniss and then I will be dead.

I leave her alone now, I don't follow her, or try to gain her attention or attempt to talk to her. I look at her a little because she is so attractive, but I'm not watching her. I am hovering by the careers but not with them necessarily, as far as they are concerned I am still one of them, on a recon mission, reporting to them on the girl who outscored them and needs to be punished.

I am throwing knives, totally immersed in my craft, knowing that my days of handling these beautiful weapons are drawing to a close. One day very soon I will have thrown my very last knife. It's a shame that I can't take just one knife with me when I go, I feel naked without them, but I guess that dead people don't feel naked.

I feel Katniss's eyes on me, I look around for her and she is indeed looking at me, her eyes flick to the bathroom and back. It's an odd situation; everyone who matters seems aware that there is something going on between me and Katniss and they all have their own idea what that might be. So when we both end up in the bathroom at the same time for an extended period of time no one is concerned and no one disturbs us.

I take a few moments and then head through the door. I wash my face and hands and then pop up on to the vanity to wait for her. She enters and locks the door, she approaches me directly - I detect in her that same dual panic and courage in her face and her movements. She walks into my body, between my knees, grabs my face and plants her lips on mine.

There are no words. Knowing we could be dead very soon helps one sort out their priorities. What is the worst that could happen to me? I could die right now. At least I have been kissed by her, I am good to go. What's the worst that could happen to her? I could kill her now, I could kill her in the arena, I could tell my crew she is an archer. None of that compares to dying with regret for never having had the courage to kiss me back.

So we kiss one another, with open mouths, with hungry eyes, with searching hands, our bodies straining against each other. We realise the terrible waste it has all been, the thousands of days we have lived in poverty, the virtual slavery, the hunger, the misery. That we have each fought desperately to survive another day, just one more grinding day. And in all that time we never knew the power of this. This, the simple yet powerful act of kissing another human being who wants to kiss us back.

It takes a long time for us to accept that we have to stop. I wanted two things. The first I have received in full. If I am to achieve the second, we must stop. I touch my forehead to hers, take a deep breath and slip down from the vanity. It occurs to me that if Katniss slaps me hard, leaving an obvious mark on my face, nobody will expect us to report back about what we have been doing so long.

She can't bring herself to do it. "Think of Prim" I tell her and the slap I thought I had avoided this morning, I now welcome. My face stings, the skin is hot, and I know it is red without looking. I wouldn't trade that slap for anything, it is my contribution to helping Katniss stay in the Games. I kiss her cheek, squeeze her hand and slam the door for effect, I strategically decide to keep another door open - I search for Cato and give him a little nod.

I spend the next couple of hours sparring with and wasting one trainer after another - spending every drop of my considerable energy. Every punch is a scream of frustration, every kick a sob of despair, not for myself, not even for Katniss. For all the wasted lives the system has exploited, for all the miserable souls who have died and will continue to die under the unyielding wheel of tyranny.

That night I go to bed and masturbate like it is my last night alive, I think of Katniss and all that we have shared, all that could have shared. Tomorrow I will be taken to the arena and unless I care to have my depravity recorded and televised before all of Panem, this may as well be my last night alive. I embrace the certainty of my imminent death, knowing that I have experienced more joy and love in the last 24 hours than I have in my whole life.

I don't know how it is going to play out in the arena but I know I have her back. I will take them out; for Katniss. She is not a killer but I can be, so I will be. I will maintain my connection to the careers until after the bloodbath and then I will review my options. And then I will kill them all, either strategically or in all out massacre, I am coming for them, for you, girl on fire.


End file.
